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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 001728 SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER COMMENTS ON ASSAULT AGAINST PUBLISHER REF: GUATEMALA 1658 Classified By: PolOff Robert E. Copley for reasons 1.5 (b). 1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador met on June 27 with Interior Minister Reyes Calderon to express concern over the June 24 criminal attack of the home of newspaper publisher Jose Ruben Zamora, and to urge a thorough investigation. Reyes Calderon said that the Public Ministry was investigating the case, despite the lack of cooperation by Zamora. He stressed that he has no reason to doubt that the assault had occurred the way Zamora described it, but added that the facts that have surfaced so far do not add up. End Summary. 2. (C) The Ambassador paid a call on Minister of Interior Jose Reyes Calderon on June 27 to raise, inter alia, our concerns over the June 24 criminal attack on the home of "El Periodico" editor and GOG critic Jose Ruben Zamora (reftel). The Ambassador told Reyes Calderon that it is critical that the GOG conduct a thorough investigation of the

incident. Reyes Calderon acknowledged the importance of resolving this case and said that his Ministry was doing everything it could to assist the Public Ministry which, he repeatedly pointed out, is legally in charge of the investigation. Reyes Calderon said he hoped Mr. Zamora would cooperate more fully with the investigation because it was extremely important to get to the truth of what happened in such a high profile case, and his cooperation, which has so far been limited, was essential. 3. (C) Reyes Calderon stressed that he had known Zamora personally for many years and considered him to be a man of honor. He commented, however, that a number of factors in Zamora's account of the incident are unusual. For example, Reyes Calderon said that in "typical" acts of intimidation, the aggressors use masks to terrorize the victim and usually destroy some of the victim's property to heighten the terror and to demonstrate their control of the situation. According to Zamora, the group that attacked him included a woman and wore no masks. They spent around two hours threatening Zamora in his house. According to Reyes Calderon, two hours would be an extremely risky and unnecessary amount of time to spend in the home if the goal was simply to deliver the message that Zamora should tone down his attacks on the government or on organized crime. 4. (C) Reyes Calderon said he had been able to inspect the entire house and observed no sign of violence (Note: RSO and PolOff visited the Zamora house about six hours after the incident and

observed no signs of violence in the rooms they visited. Zamora appeared unhurt and one of his teenage sons with whom they spoke showed no sign of physical abuse and seemed unusually calm given his recent ordeal (reftel). End note). No fingerprints have been found in the house except for those of the family and household staff, according to Reyes Calderon, who finds it strange that the attackers would make no attempt to hide their faces, yet manage not to leave fingerprints during two hours in the house. He also pointed out that the Zamora house is less than one hundred yards and in the direct line of sight of a guarded gate controlling access to the residential area. According to Reyes Calderon, all of the license plates recorded by the guards the morning of the incident belonged to residents of the neighborhood (Note: EmbOffs entered the neighborhood by a different gate several blocks from the main entrance in an Embassy vehicle. The guards at this gate were unsure of the location of Zamora's house, and granted access without requesting identification. Typically residential security guards provide very little security and would have nothing to gain and possibly their lives to lose if they admit to witnessing an assault such as the one on Zamora. End note). 5. (C) The Ambassador told Reyes Calderon that, especially in view of the political tension surrounding the electoral campaign, clarifying the Zamora case was in everyone's interest. He urged Reyes Calderon to continue providing all assistance to the Public Ministry to carry out a serious and thorough investigation.

6. (C) Comment: The attack against Zamora and his family continues to generate significant interest in the press, and other journalists have stepped forward to say that they, too, have been threatened. The incident has generated concern that political or criminal sectors opposed to change could engage in further violence during the election campaign in order to protect their interests. The GOG recognizes the importance of investigating the incident, and Reyes Calderon has told us that he is committed to providing all assistance to the investigation. Important facts about what happened at the Zamora residence on the morning of June 24, however, are still not known, and the success of any investigation will depend to a large extent on cooperation between government investigators and Zamora. LINDWALL (Edited and reading.) reformatted by Andres for ease of